It’s at this point that I remind the teams that perhaps there should be a set of uniforms with a high number and a name plate “New Guy” sewn on, just in case of an example like Justin Thomas.

Thomas, who was reassigned yesterday to Harrisburg from Hagerstown, has been returned to the Suns today. He was replaced on the Harrisburg roster by recently signed RHP James Simmons a bass guitarist from NYC a former Oakland (yes, really) prospect who had been pitching for the Camden Riversharks in the Atlantic League, where he was 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings over two starts. Simmons split time between High-A and AAA last season in the A’s organization with a record of 8-8 and a 5.48 ERA in 20 High-A starts and an 0-2 mark with a 7.16 ERA in 12 AAA relief outings.

The 26-y.o. Simmons has already made his Nats debut, appearing in this morning’s Senators game with two shutout frames with one walk and no K’s.

A corresponding move from Potomac may not be forthcoming, as RHP Rafael Martin’s assignment to the P-Nats from XST is a minor-league rehab stint (officially, Martin remains on the Harrisburg DL) per MilB.com.

UPDATE #1
The Senators have made a second announcement today regarding player transactions:

MiLB.com is still reporting the Martin’s move as a rehab assignment, which conflicts with this announcement as well as one made by the P-Nats late Monday night. Not the first time this has happened. Stay tuned for updates if/when Potomac & Syracuse make press releases this afternoon.
UPDATE #2
Potomac and Syracuse’s PR folks have weighed in, clarifying the corresponding moves:

The Potomac, Hagerstown, and Syracuse rosters are all full, while it appears that the Senators roster has one spot open. There are, of course, TBAs and TBDs in the upcoming probables. Stay tuned to the daily News & Notes to see how it plays out.

Syracuse finally surpassed the .500 mark (16-15) as they won their fourth straight with a 3-2 decision over Durham. Will “Don’t Call Me Buster” Rhymes’s two-run double in the last of the 7th was the game-winner, which also marked the Chiefs’ sixth win in ten one-run ballgames. Omar Poveda got the start, giving up both Bulls runs on three hits and two walks while fanning a season-high of seven. Daniel Stange got the win while Mike Gonzalez got the save (the first for both, respectively) as the two veteran relievers combined for three shutout innings. Erik Komatsu singled twice, scored once, and stole a base to lead the Syracuse attack.Roster moves: RHP Blake Treinen recalled to Washington, RHP Ryan Mattheus optioned from Washington.

A.J. Cole spun six scoreless innings while the Harrisburg offense put up a four-spot in the bottom of the 5th to take a 5-1 win from Richmond. Cole scattered seven hits and struck out seven in his best outing of the season thus far, which earned him his third win and dropped his ERA to 2.86. Kevin Keyes and Brian Jeroloman both reached base twice with a single and a walk to pace the balanced attack of eight hits and four walks. Roster moves: LHP Felipe Rivero placed on the 7-Day DL; LHP Justin Thomas reassigned from Hagerstown. As noted by Byron Kerr via Twitter, this is likely a signal that LHP Sammy Solis is about to return from XST (back).

Hagerstown — OFF DAY
After a 4-2 homestand, the Suns take to the road on a three-game win streak to take on Hickory for four games over three days, with one of last week’s rainouts scheduled to be made up with a doubleheader tomorrow.

Steve Souza drove in three while going 3-for-5 in his return to AAA as the Chiefs doubled up the Bulls, 8-4. Josh Roenicke got the start and pitched around three walks and three hits for four scoreless innings before giving way to Tyler Herron. Durham spoiled the 26-y.o.’s AAA debut with four runs in the 5th before Zach Jackson bailed him out and pitched two more scoreless for the win. Josh Johnson (2-for-5) and Emmanuel Burris (2-for-4) both had multiple hits as Syracuse tallied 10 hits total.Roster moves: OF Jerry Scott Hairston activated from 15-Day DL, recalled to Washington, OF Steve Souza optioned from Washington; LHP Xavier “Carry On” Cedeno placed on 7-Day DL, retroactive to May 2, RHP Tyler Herron reassigned from Harrisburg.

Hector Silvestre threw five no-hit, no-run innings as the Suns built a 4-0 lead before holding off a late Lexington charge for a 6-5 win. Silvestre, working on three days’ rest, allowed just one walk and struck one to earn his first win of the season. Estarlin Martinez drew three walks, scored twice and stole two bases to lead the Hagerstown offense. Jake Walsh was awarded his third save despite giving up single runs in the 8th and 9th innings.Roster move: C Wilson Ramos removed from roster as MLB rehab.

The battery of Taylor Hill and Jhonatan Solano powered Syracuse to a 1-0 shutout of Toledo. Hill went the distance with just three hits and a walk allowed while striking five. Solano provided the lone Chief run with a solo shot in the 7th. Hill retired 17 batters from the 3rd to the 9th before Emmanuel Burriss’s error ended the streak. The 25-y.o. “northpaw” ended the game with the tying run at 2nd and the go-ahead at 1st with a whiff of 36-y.o. Mike Hessman, the active minor-league leader in HRs with 395.

Reading scored six in the 3rd and the last six runs of the game in a 15-2 blowout of Harrisburg. Felipe Rivero was strafed for seven runs on seven hits and two walks while losing for the fifth time in six starts. Five of the Fightins runs were unearend, “thanks” to four errors by the Senators, who now have 37 in 27 games. Justin Bloxom (2-for-3, BB) and Quincy Latimore (1-for-2, 2BB) both reached base three times to lead the Harrisburg offense.

Oscar Tejeda’s grand-slam highlighted a five-run 8th as Potomac earned a split of the four-game series with an 11-3 smackdown of Winston-Salem. Khayyan Norfork, Shawn Pleffner, and Pedro Severino also went deep as the P-Nats saw seven of their 14 hits go for extra bases. Dakota Bacuse made his second start and went four innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk while fanning four. Gilberto Mendez got the win with two perfect innings of relief. Adrian Sanchez remains on fire, going 4-for-5 to extend his hit streak to 10 games and raise his BA to .267 after a 2-for-35 start.

Ryan Tatusko spun his fourth straight quality start yet lost for the third time over that stretch as the Mudhens pecked the Chiefs, 2-1. The 29-y.o. veteran gave up just one run on a solo shot in the 6th and five hits total over six innings. He walked two and struck out six while lowering his ERA to a team-best 2.20. The clutch hit eluded Syracuse as they went 1-for-10 with RISP left on 10 men. Destin Hood reached base three times with a pair of singles and a walk and stole a base to lead the Syracuse attack, followed closely by Brock Peterson and Emmanuel Burriss, who both went 2-for-4.

Harrisburg dialed long distance four times in a 9-4 romp over Reading to take their fourth decision in five games. Rehabbing Doug Fister struggled towards the end of his outing, needing 76 pitches to get 11 outs. He was charged with two runs on two hits and three walks but struck out five. Neil Holland picked him, stranding a runner and throwing two and a 1/3rd scoreless innings to get the win. Michael Taylor, who was discovered by WaPo’s James Wagner last night, Brian Jeroloman, Jason Martinson, and Kevin Keyes each went deep and combined for seven of the Senators eleven hits.Roster moves: RHP Doug Fister assigned from Washington for MLB rehab; OF Quincy Latimore activated from 7-Day DL.

Potomac fell behind 3-0 early but chipped away with a pair of runs in the 5th and single runs in the 7th and 8th to overcome the Dash, 4-3. Ronald Pena gave up all three Winson-Salem runs on nine hits and two walks over five innings in a no-decision. Four relievers combined for four scoreless innings, with Matthew Spann getting the win, his first, in his Carolina League debut while Robert Benincasa earned his sixth save. Oscar Tejada led the Potomac hit parade with a 3-for-4 night. The P-Nats drew eight walks but struggled to make the Dash pay, going 3-for-16 with RISP and leaving 14 men on base.Roster moves: OF Randolph Oduber reassigned from Harrisburg; RHP Brian Rauh placed on 7-Day DL, retroactive to April 30.

The Legends put a hurt on Jake Johansen with a six-run 2nd as the cruised to 12-4 beating of Suns. Johansen was knocked from the box after just an inning and a 1/3rd, having been torched for eight runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks while striking out one. James Yezzo (4-for-4) and Wilmer Difo (3-for-5) combined for seven of the 14 Hagerstown hits, as the Suns stranded 10 runners.Drew Ward extended his hit streak to 10 games and on-base streak to 11 with a single in the 1st.

With so many transactions in such a short period of time, it’s difficult to assess their permanence. Brian Dupra, for example, was putting up strong numbers — enough for me to assess that perhaps his recent move from Potomac to Harrisburg would not be what it ultimately was: an up-and-back maneuver until the more experienced Warner Madrigal was ready.

Thus, with all due respect to Hood, I have to consider that his placement in AAA might be short-lived as well; it has been only 19 games, after all. Oduber has also bounced back and forth between High-A and AA before and I haven’t seen anything thus far that convinces me that he won’t return to Potomac again — especially if Scott Hairston is on the verge of starting a rehab assignment, as reported in the Washington Post earlier this week, in which case we could see Hood and Oduber returned to AA and A+ respectively and Tyler Moore optioned yet again when Hairston is deemed healthy again.

UPDATE: Syracuse has announced that Eury Perez has been placed on the 7-Day DL with a foot injury while Scott Hairston will begin a rehab assignment tonight.

Syracuse broke a 1-1 tie with a four-run 5th, capped off by Jose Lozada’s two-run HR, his first of the 2014 season. Indianapolis rallied for three in the 6th against piggybacking reliever Aaron Laffey and one in the 9th against would-be closer Manny Delcarmen to tie it at 5-5. Brock Peterson’s RBI single in the 10th reclaimed the lead and Delcarmen held it on his second chance in the 10th to give the Chiefs a 6-5 victory. Blake Treinen got the start and turned in four innings of one-run ball with three hits, one walk, and two strikeouts allowed. Will “Don’t Call Me Buster” Rhymes continues to swing a hot bat (12 hits, .429BA over last 7G) with a 3-for-5 night, followed by Emmanuel Burriss and Lozada, who both went 2-for-4.Roster moves: RHP Ryan Mattheus recalled to Washington (unofficial, but reported by multiple online sources); RHP Taylor Jordan optioned from Washington, OF Will Piwnica-Worms reassigned from Potomac.

In a role reversal, Harrisburg scored early and often and did not have their efforts washed away in a 9-0 win over New Britain. Matt Skole and Kevin Keyes both went 3-for-5 with a run scored while veteran Brandon Bantz matched Keyes’s RBI tally of two while going 2-for-4 with a douvble and a run scored. Rob Gilliam started and went four and 2/3rds scoreless innings with two walks and four strikeouts. Brian Dupra got the win in relief as he made his AA debut with three and 1/3rd scoreless innings with three walks and three strikeouts. Tyler Herron pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to complete the shutout, the first for the Senators this season.Roster moves: RHP Ryan Perry placed on the 7-Day DL, RHP Brian Dupra promoted from Potomac.

Potomac 0 Lynchburg 0 (SUSP.)
It was dollar Monday (and perhaps F.P. Santangelo Groupie Night?), but the P-Nats and Hillcats couldn’t make it past the top of the 2nd as rain halted play with one out and a runner on 2nd. They’ll try to finish it tonight, but with heavy rain in the forecast, odds are more likely we’ll see a couple of doubleheaders next month when the Hillcats return to the Pfitz.Roster moves: RHP John Simms, LHP Matthew Spann promoted from Hagerstown.

Hagerstown — OFF DAY
The Suns return to the Muni riding a six-game win streak after taking the last two from Augusta GreenJackets and sweeping the West Virginia Power for four games. Weather permitting, they’ll begin a three-game series against Hickory and round out the seven-game homestand with four games against the Lexington Legends, starting on Friday.Roster moves: LHP Hector Silvestre activated from the 7-Day DL, RHP Michael Sylvestri assigned from XST.

The Hagerstown Suns have announced that two relievers — RHP John Simms and LHP Matthew Spann — have been promoted to the Potomac Nationals. Taking their place on the Suns roster are LHP Hector Silvestre, who was activated from the 7-Day DL, and RHP Michael Sylvestri, who was activated from XST.

Simms was 0-0 with three saves and a 0.98 ERA in five appearances with two walks and 20 strikeouts over 18&#8531 innings for Hagerstown. The 22-year-old was twice drafted by the Washington Nationals: in the 39th Rd. of the 2010 Draft out of College Park HS in The Woodlands, TX and in 11th Rd. of last June’s draft out of Rice University. He posted an 0-3, 5.79 record for Auburn last summer but had terrific peripherals (2.2BB, 10.0K per 9IP), which earned him a spot on this site’s 2014 Watchlist.

Potomac has had 11 pitchers on the roster since LHP Nick Lee and RHP Pedro Encarnacion were placed on the DL last week, which will bring them back to the usual complement of 13 pitchers. A corresponding move to reduce the Potomac roster to the 25-man limit has not yet been announced. If/when it is, this space will be updated.
UPDATE: The Potomac Nationals announced the following roster moves this afternoon…

RHP Doug Fister removed from roster as MLB rehab

RHP Brian Dupra reassigned to Syracuse

OF Will Piwinica-Worms reassigned to Harrisburg

As noted last year, there are cases such as these in which the word promotion is not used because it’s pretty clear that the roster move is a needs-based assignment. This is not an indictment of the player but merely a reflection of that judgment (sometimes the clubs’ media folks themselves will use the word “transfer”). Sadly, this could also mean that I’m wrong about Spann and Simms, but that bell has already been rung.

This latest set of moves does appears to be a ripple effect from the placement of Bryce Harper on the parent club DL, which means that an OF from Harrisburg is likely on his way to Syracuse to replace Steve Souza, who was recalled to take Harper’s spot. If/when that news is received, I’ll update this space again.

UPDATE #2: The Syracuse Chiefs and Harrisburg Senators are announcing the following moves…

RHP Ryan Perry placed on the 7-Day DL

RHP Brian Dupra promoted from Potomac to Harrisburg

OF Will Piwnica-Worms reassigned from Potomac to Syracuse

Obviously, there’s some conflicting information here, which we’ll have to sort out tomorrow.

The Indians and Chiefs batters were stymied by some good peyote pitching as the two teams combined for just eight hits in a 2-1 pitcher’s duel that Indianapolis took from Syracuse. Starter Ryan Tatusko turned in his third straight quality start but lost for the second time over that stretch. He allowed both Indians runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three. Will “Don’t Call Me Buster” Rhymes doubled with two outs in the 1st and Brock Peterson cashed in the first of just three chances they would get to drive in a baserunner from scoring position. The Chiefs were no-hit the rest of the way but did draw six walks.Roster move: OF Steve Souza recalled to Washington.

Hagerstown completed the four-game sweep with a 5-2 win over West Virginia to complete a 6-1 roadtrip, for which the “1” came first and “6” have been since. Isaac Ballou, Wilmer Difo, and Drew Ward each had an RBI in the Suns’ three-run 6th that broke a 2-2 tie and gave Wander Suero, who finished the game with four and 2/3rds scoreless innings, his third win of the season. Lucas Giolito got the start and gave up both Power runs on three hits and three walks while striking out four in his fourth no-decision in five starts. Eight of the nine starters collected hits with Difo and Ballou combining for eight of the eleven.

The Syracuse ‘pen blew leads of 3-0 and 5-3, including a three-run implosion in the 9th to lose to Indianapolis, 6-5. Ryan Mattheus coughed up the decisive runs with just one of five batters faced retired as he gave up a leadoff walk, a single, a two-run double to tie, and an RBI single to lose. It was his second blown save in eight appearances. Josh Roenicke got the spot start and turned in four and a 1/3rd innings of scoreless, one-hit ball, though he walked four and struck out three. Jhonatan Solano led the Chiefs offense with a pair of singles and a double, followed by Brandon Laird’s 2-for-4 mark with 2RBI.

The spiral is now six games as Bowie knifed Harrisburg for a 6-2 loss on Saturday. Blake Schwartz lost again, giving up four runs (one earned) on nine hits and one walk. He struck out three and surrendered his third HR in five starts. Matt Grace followed with two and a 1/3rd scoreless to keep the Senators close before Tyler Herron gave up two runs in the 9th. Justin Bloxom doubled twice and Kevin Keyes doubled once to go 4-for-8 combined with just one of Harrisburg’s 14 batting strikeouts.

Drew Ward homered for the second straight game, a two-run shot that highlighted a four-run 1st as the Suns scorched the Power, 8-2, for their fifth straight win. Nick Pivetta and Matthew Spann continued the trend of Hagerstown using just one starter and one reliever. Pivetta went the first five innings, giving up a run on three hits and four walks with two strikeouts for the win. Spann went the last four frames with the second West Virginia run allowed on just two hits and one walk for the save. Estarlin Martinez notched his third three-hit game in the last nine days to lead the Suns’ 16-hit attack.Roster moves: C Spencer Kieboom placed on 7-Day DL, C Austin Chubb activated from XST.